Indre-Creuse - the mystery of the crosses of Crozant

Fifty-two crosses with very particular shapes are to be found on the border of the Indre and Creuse departments. This is a unique concentration in the world, whose origin is still unknown in 2021. 

If stones could talk, the crosses of Crozant would have a big story to tell. Beginning with their origin. Today, we know very little or nothing about them even though their concentration - 52 spread over 10 km² between the Creuse and Indre regions - is unique in the world .

About 70 cm high, placed directly on the ground, with a small cupule (hollow) at the top and, above all, this characteristic shape with a head and a foot, hence their name of crosses pattées.“These archaic crosses, with no pattern, all have the same shape and are all a little different, each with their own personality, like children of the same family," explains Jacques Sautot, president of the association for the preservation of Crozant-type crosses. “We created this association in 2019 to protect these crosses which are in great danger. They have not suffered for more than ten centuries, but for the last thirty years or so, there has been major damage and some have been reduced to rubble!"

Didier Fauguet, stone sculptor from Saint-Plantaire says...

“The two main threats are, on the one hand, the roadside clearing machines and the ever larger agricultural machinery. On the other hand, the wear and tear of time. The crosses were carved from stones that were originally laid horizontally in the fields. When they are placed vertically, the granite strata are exposed to the rain and as soon as it freezes, the stone disintegrates into slabs...".